England's elite women cricketers reunite for Super Fours

Clare Connor, the England women's cricket captain and Channel 4 cricket presenter, will lead her team The Braves in defence of their Super Fours title in Oxford on Saturday 17th May.

Clare is one of forty-eight elite female players, selected for four teams: The Braves, The Knight Riders, The Super Strikers and The V Team. Opening matches will be played at The Parks and Marston University grounds, Oxford.

Super Fours was devised to ensure that the country's leading players faced each other in regular competition before the international season, and was implemented by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to bridge the gap between the domestic game and international arena.

England selectors will attend the matches and players know they are competing for a place in the England squad to face South Africa in August.

England's vice-captain, Charlotte Edwards, will lead The Knight Riders who include England's phenomenal bowler Lucy Pearson. Lucy took a world-record eleven wicket haul in the recent Ashes Test Match against Australia in Sydney; including a career best 7-51 in the first innings. The record had stood for 46 years.

The four teams compete in a round-robin basis, playing matches over five weekends between 17th May, before returning to Oxford for the concluding matches on Saturday 21st June.

Last year's competition was decided on the last day, and Clare Connor thinks it will be as close this year, "Super Fours is the premier domestic competition for women, so we can't wait to start playing again. Last year was the first for Super Fours, so there was an element of the unknown, but this time we all know the standard will be very high and the matches extremely competitive".

Last year, two young players Isa Guha and Lydia Greenway, both performed exceptionally well in the competition and earnt England call-ups in 2002/3.

Isa Guha went on to take the BBC Asian Network Sports Personality of the Year award for 2002 and was described as 'the girl who bowls it like Botham'.

Super Fours fixtures:

The Braves v Super Strikers     The Parks, Oxford       12 noon Saturday 17th May
The V Team v Knight Riders      Marston, Oxford         12 noon Saturday 17th May
The Braves V Knight Riders      King's College, Taunton 12 noon Sunday 25th May
Super Strikers v The V Team     King's College, Taunton 12 noon Sunday 25th May
Super Strikers v Knight Riders  King's College, Taunton 10.30am Monday 26th May
The Braves v The V Team         King's College, Taunton 10.30am Monday 26th May
Super Strikers v Knight Riders  Reading Cricket Club    12 noon Sunday 1st June
The Braves v The V Team         Reading Cricket Club    12 noon Sunday 1st June
The Braves v Super Strikers     Worksop College         12 noon Sunday 15th June
The V Team v Knight Riders      Worksop College         12 noon Sunday 15th June
The V Team v Super Strikers     Radley College, Oxford  12 noon Saturday 21st June
The Braves v Knight Riders      The Parks, Oxford       12 noon Saturday 21st June

Super Fours Teams:

THE KNIGHT RIDERS
Coach:  Neil Rider
Charlotte Edwards - Captain (Kent)
Kathryn Doherty (Yks)
Jenny Gunn (Notts)
Jane Cassar (Notts)
Lyndsey Askew (Kent)
Helen Wardlaw (Yorks)
Lucy Pearson (Staffordshire)
Lydia Greenway (Kent)
Caroline Atkins (Sussex)
Raddi Nannalal (Berkshire)
Sarah Collyer (Somerset)
Rosale Birch (Sussex)
THE SUPER STRIKERS
Coach:  Duncan Martindale
Claire Taylor - Captain (Berkshire)
Sarah Clarke (Surrey)
Jan Godman (Somerset)
Laura Newton (Lancashire)
Laura Spragg (Yorks)
Alexia Walker (Sussex)
Beth Wild (Essex)
Penny Arnold (Kent)
Hannah Lloyd (Somerset)
Sallyann Briggs (Yorks)
THE V TEAM
Coach:  Richard Newton
Clare Taylor - Captain (Yorks)
Laura Joyce (Surrey)
Kathryn Leng (Yks)
Clare Atkinson (Yks)
Arran Thompson (Lancs)
Jackie Hawker (Somerset)
Kelly Evenson (Staffs)
Alexis Mannion (Essex)
Dawn Prestige (Durham)
Gill Richards (Staffs)
Leanne Davies (Lancs)
THE BRAVES
Coach: Charlotte Dickenson
Clare Connor - Captain (Sussex)
Isa Guha (Berkshire)
Natalie Lane (Kent)
Beth Morgan (Middx)
Laura Harper (Somerset)
Mandie Godliman (Sussex)
Ebony Rainford-Brent (Surrey)
Steph Davies (Somerset)
Sue Redfern (Derbyshire)
Melissa Reynard (Yorks)
Yvonne Craven (Berkshire)

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